With more 100 shows of our Spinal Column Radio podcast under my belt — taking my son, Logan, and I coast to coast to interview some of chiropractic’s greatest minds — you can imagine that I’ve got a story or two.

One such story took place in the farmlands just outside of Portland. Logan and I were invited to heft our studio down to the Big Top Legacy Gathering — a regular old-school chiropractic philosophy turnout held under a circus tent.  Over the course of the day, influential leaders in our profession would take to the stage under the grand spectacle of the big top. Our studio was set up just outside and our job, of course, was to interview them.

As the chiropractor-attendees arrived to this surreal event held out in a cow pasture, my intention was to have our on-location studio on the air with our first interview in progress.  Loudspeakers were set to project so attendees could easily stop and enjoy our show.

My scheduled guest was Dr. Lyle Koca, a passionate chiropractor and leader from Nebraska. I had no doubt that he had the makings for an excellent interview. I failed to account for two things though: technical difficulties and how rain would affect our audience.

Technically, our studio did not set up as smoothly as it had in the past. Without boring you with details, just know that it took much longer than I had planned.  And then, as it does in the Northwest, it began to rain.  Good thing we had our own tent.

Our interview kicked off five minutes before the Big Top Legacy program was under way. We saw plenty of chiropractors, all right — glancing our way as they ran past to grab their seats and seek refuge from the pelting rain under the shelter of the big tent. In all fairness, some did stop and brave the rain for a moment to enjoy our banter. As the main attraction got under way though, our audience quickly vanished. But two ladies remained, loyally hanging on our every word.

Now, I don’t consider myself a celebrity by any stretch of the imagination, but podcasting has put me in the limelight, and Logan and I have developed quite a following around the globe with our niche audience.  So, naturally, I was flattered to have these two lovely ladies, who were obvious diehard fans, braving the rain to take in one of our shows in person.

As my guest responded to my questions, my mind would drift in and out to thoughts of later signing autographs and answering behind-the-scene questions about our show.

Unbelievably, the two ladies watched the entire interview, all 21 minutes 10 seconds of it.

At the end, they were smiling and moving with excitement. Dr. Koca and I took off our headphones and walked to greet our audience of two. As we approached my fan club, Dr. Koca turned to me and said, “Tom, I’d like to introduce you to my wife and my daughter.”

Yep. Nothing like a nice hefty slice of humble pie to reset this pod-jockey’s meter.  Well, one thing is for sure, these two ladies are fans of at least one episode.